


beware the dog

by enbyofdionysus



Series: the self-indulgent fics [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Anal Fingering, Edgeplay, M/M, Museums, Nipple Play, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Overstimulation, Prostate Milking, Strangers, Teasing, kind of, ruined orgasm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 01:18:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7412809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyofdionysus/pseuds/enbyofdionysus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy starts work at the Upstate Sexibition, a kind of sexual exhibit where customers pay to fuck people behind walls, in order to work off his college debt. Except one particular customer seems to take an unusual interest in him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	beware the dog

**Author's Note:**

> This is a completely self-indulgent fic working with own of my own kinks, so I hope you guys like it. Also, this is uneditted for now so if you see any mistakes just ignore them -- I'll fix them later.

It started as a joke.

Percy had been sitting in Luke's Cafe and Bakeshop, scrolling through his laptop and muttering about the tortures of job searching while Leo sketched out ideas for his welding final. “Why does everything require three years of experience?” Percy growled. He closed out of LinkedIn and leaned back in his chair. “I go $40k into debt and for what? I'm just going to end up working full-time at a retail job regardless.”

“You could go into prostitution,” Leo said casually. He tilted his sketchbook and held it closer to his face.

Percy rolled his eyes and picked up his coffee. “I'm probably just going to end up going back to school. Get an associates in something else just so I can have more job opportunities.”

“Or you could try prostitution.”

“I'm not going to try prostitution.”

“You sure?” Leo looked up at him for the first time in forty minutes. “'Cause there's a flyer right there saying they're hiring.”

Percy frowned and looked at the bulletin board beside them. Sure enough, there was a flyer in bold Helvetica advertising something called a Sexibition. “Workers needed for various exhibits including anal, penile, and,” Percy choked, “nipple exhibits. Professional sex workers desired, but experience not required. What the fuck is this?”

Leo looked amused. “You've never heard of the Upstate Sexibition?”

“No?”

“It's basically a place where people go to fuck.” Leo lowered his voice. “Kind of like a brothel except more state of the art. People are like, behind walls and stuff with just their dicks poking out and people jerk them off or edge them or whatever. There's different areas depending on what you're into.”

Percy's ears were red. “And people pay to go there?”

“Are you kidding? It's like $1,000 for one pop, but $15,000 to just go in and do whatever you want. You can fuck people, get sucked off. It's ridiculous.”

“It sounds awful.”

“Nah,” Leo shook his head, “there's security guards all over the place. If someone behind one of the walls doesn't like what you're doing, you'll either be asked to move on or kicked out.”

“What do you mean 'behind one of the walls'?”

“Like,” Leo waved his hand, “you know those Hentai comics or whatever where someone gets stuck in a wall and people just use them while they're stuck there?”

Percy stared.

Leo flushed. “Don't kink shame. It's kind of like that.”

“People just have their asses hanging out of walls,” Percy said.

“Some people are into it.”

“Those people being you.”

“Again, don't kink shame. It's all consensual or else it wouldn't be sex.” He gestured at the flyer again. “After all, they are paying you $500 every 20 minutes.”

Percy's eyes snapped back to the bulletin board. “What?”

“You didn't read that part? Technically, you could get more money making a BackPage, but this is probably safer.” Leo shrugged and went back to sketching, but Percy continued to stare at the flyer. _Clean and perfectly safe_ , it read. _Call Horatio at 555-999-8000 for information. Come join the fun and make $1500 an hour!_

Percy thought of his college debt. He thought of how he hadn't gotten laid in a while. But he also cringed at the thought of sleeping with strangers, of old, unattractive men and women touching his body and smelling like moth-balls. And yet... “If you're behind a wall,” Percy asked, “do you see the people fucking you?”

Leo glanced up from his sketchbook. “Are you seriously considering it?”

Percy's ears reddened.

“You don't see the people.” Leo shrugged. “At least, the customers don't see you, so I would think so.”

Percy licked his lips and thought about being behind a wall, of customers using his ass, his dick, his mouth. His body warmed and his cock twitched.

Leo laughed as he jotted down the number.

***

The Upstate Sexibition was far nicer than Percy had expected it to be. It looked like a spa, with light brown shingles and white stone walls. A large fountain sat in front with a stone Aphrodite standing in the center, holding a goblet that was being filled by Ganymede.

Horatio, an older gay man with a kind face, had interviewed Percy over the phone and then asked him to visit the exhibition for a second interview. Percy liked him immediately, his handshake firm and soft. His office smelled like good men's cologne and his desk was covered in pictures of friends holding rainbow flags.

He asked Percy what he enjoyed sexually and what he didn't enjoy, talked about how payment worked and introduced him to the beep system.

“It's a small remote that all of our workers have access to,” Horatio said, showing him a small, flat remote. There were three colored buttons on it: green, yellow, and red. “There is a light that remains on above each of our workers. Automatically, they'll be green, which means you're alright with how a customer is touching you.

“If you dislike what a customer is doing, you can either press the yellow button, which is something like a warning meaning you don't like it, but don't want the customer to stop everything they're doing all together. Or you can press the red button, which means you want to stop. When a red button is pressed, security will come and get the customer off of you. They will no longer touch you. A trained therapist will then come meet with you to make sure you're alright. If you choose not to continue working, obviously you won't continue to make money that day, however you keep all that you have made with previous transactions.

“You'll also be moved to our Relax Room, which we use with all of our workers at the end of their shifts regardless of whether they were working in the BDSM exhibit or not. We like to have our workers leaving the Sexibition feeling happy and content. You are not a slave here and you will not be humiliated or harmed unless you ask to be and even then it's by your rules, not ours.

“If you press the yellow button,” Horatio said, “but you do not press the green button after thirty seconds – that is, if the customer does not make you feel comfortable again in thirty seconds – the light will automatically turn red.”

“Okay,” Percy said with a nod. He was already feeling more secure; his leg had stopped jiggling.

“Every day, or whenever you choose to work, fifteen minutes of your time, before you go in will be dedicated to meditation and yoga. We want everyone to be relaxed when they go in.” Horatio smiled. “Happy psyche, happy sex. Plus, it helps with any potential cramping. It's also paid participation, which is always a bonus.” Percy laughed, which made Horatio smile more. “But any way, I've certainly talked a lot. Do you have any questions for me?”

“Um. How would breaks work?”

“You get a ten minute break after every customer,” Horatio said. “Cleaners will come by and remove any semen, lube, wetness, and sweat, and then you'll be free to either use the restroom, stretch, or get water. You do get a thirty minute lunch break mid-way through your shift, which you can take in our free cafeteria. I don't recommend eating any solid food at that break if you plan to work in the anal exhibit. It isn't prohibited, but if you're self-conscious about–”

“Got it,” Percy said.

“Anything else?” Horatio asked.

“Um. Yeah. If I... If I choose to work here, but decide it's not for me–?”

“You're free to leave at any time,” Horatio said, nodding. “We just ask you to let us know your decision the day you choose to leave.”

“Okay.”

“Any more questions?”

Percy thought about it, then shook his head.

“Would you like to take a look around?” Horatio asked. “I find it's better if our workers understand first hand what they're getting into. And, if you would like, you can even go for a round in the genital exhibit or nipple exhibit so you can get a feel for just what would be happening. If that's something you'd be interested in, the session will be added to your pay. If not, then it won't.”

“I think I'd be interested in that,” Percy said. He had plenty of his questions answered and Leo had explained what things were like from the customer standpoint, but he wanted to know just how this job would go for him before he officially signed up.

***

He felt a little ridiculous coming up onto a step and crouching down next to four other men on a memory foam pad, but Percy had to admit the experience wasn't as nerve-wracking as he thought it would be.

The guy next to him, a chubby-faced and broad-shouldered guy named Frank, fist-bumped him and introduced himself with a kind smile.

“Test run?” he asked as Percy shimmied his cock out of his jeans.

Percy laughed a little, anxiety making his hands shake. “You can tell?”

“Everybody tends to wear sweats,” Frank said. “Easier to get out of and more comfortable.”

Percy laughed, this time more freely, as he tried to adjust himself on the pad, the jeans tangled around his knees. “I get that.”

“There's handles here for you to hold on to if you need to get a grip,” Frank said, showing Percy the blue grip handles screwed into the wall above him. “Other than that, just slide your dick right through the hole.”

Percy flushed, looking at the black rubber circle around the edge of the hole. He could see the hardwood floor on the other side and remembered the scene of cocks Horatio showed him on the way to the back, some flaccid and others being pumped by men and women alike. It still felt odd, but the atmosphere of the guys around him and the general feel of the building relaxed him a bit.

He eased his cock into the hole.

Frank smiled at him. “Now just sit and wait for the fun to happen.”

***

Percy didn't have to wait long.

Frank had just started telling him about a time when he discovered he was lactose intolerant after eating a gallon of ice cream, which conveniently made Percy laugh the last of his nerves away, when the feeling of a hand on his cock made him jerk in surprise.

“Got a bite?” Frank asked curiously.

“Yeah, I– Wow.” A laugh bubbled out of him. “This is weird.”

“It is,” Frank said, smiling. “But it's good, I swear.”

He wasn't wrong. Percy bit his lip as the hand on his cock, calloused and warm, tickled up the underside of the length and then back down. It was so gentle it made his balls itch, but he didn't move. And then he choked on a whimper as the guy's thumb pressed against the top of the head and his index finger rubbed against the underside.

“Fuck,” Percy hissed, pressing his hips closer to the wall. But his cock could only go out so far and, with the wall in the way, the guy on the other side controlled the amount of friction Percy got. Which wasn't a lot. The calloused hand was never firm, always gentle, always _too_ gentle, bringing Percy to a full hard-on with nothing but slow, soft touches that were driving him crazy.

And then, sharp and sudden, the stranger on the other side slapped his cock.

Percy jerked in surprise. But the sting of the slap wasn't painful enough for him to hit the yellow button. He swallowed as the calloused fingers gently tickled up the length of his cock again, ever so gentle, before settling on the head.

Percy squirmed against the wall, hands tightening on the grip handles. He could feel the tip of his cock dripping, could feel the warmth of his orgasm building. Then the man on the other side startled him again by gripping him firmly in one hand and rubbing the tip of his cock with the palm of the other.

“Fuck,” Percy gasped. His hips bucked against the wall again. He bit his lip.

And then the sharp sting of another slap.

Percy's balls jumped. His face warmed. He didn't hit the yellow button.

The hands disappeared, replaced by the hot humidity of a mouth. Full lips blanketed his tip. A tongue swiped unrelentingly beneath his slit. Percy was going to cum.

And then the mouth was gone.

Percy swallowed hard. Lips kissed the tip of his cock. He shivered.

And then nothing.

Percy waited for the calloused fingers to return, for the warm palms, the hot mouth, the sharp pain of the slap.

There was nothing.

The insulted look on Percy's face made Frank laugh.

“You got the Edge-er on your first go?” Frank asked.

Percy swallowed again, catching his breath. “The what?”

“The Edge-er,” Frank said. “He's a guy who's been coming in recently. Teases the crap out of you and then leaves you hanging. You can go ahead and jerk off if you want. We won't judge.”

Percy slid his cock from the hole. It was red and angry-looking with pre-cum smeared around the head and lube along the shaft. He reached down with his left hand and gently squeezed his balls before jerking roughly with his right hand just the way he liked it. Frank nudged him just before he got off.

“Welcome to the Sexibition,” he said.

***

The Edge-er, as Frank had called him, seemed to favor Percy.

Every day since the test run, Percy's cock would be played with by the same calloused hands, sucked by the same wonderful mouth, teased by the same nimble fingers, and every time he nearly came to orgasm he would be slapped. His thighs trembled every time and every time the man would leave his cock, hard and aching, for someone else to take care of. Percy's own hand during breaks never seemed to be enough.

It only got worse when Horatio suggested he begin letting customers use toys. Suddenly the Edge-er became fond of pressing a wand vibrator to the underside of his cock and leaving it there for several minutes, making his cock desperately bob and drool. He was also fond of fucking Percy's cock with a flesh-light. For several minutes he would jerk just the tip, remove the toy, and slap Percy's cock. Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat.

And then he would leave.

And Percy would angrily jerk off next to Frank before getting up to get a drink.

After two weeks of the stranger's teasing, Percy stopped by Horatio's office to ask that edging be added to his turn-off list.

“Couldn't take it any more,” Percy explained the next day during yoga.

“Do you think he'll still jerk you off?” Frank asked, effortlessly pushing up from down-dog into a warrior pose. Percy struggled to follow his lead.

“Maybe,” he said. “I have a birth mark on the base of my dick, so if he really wants to find me, he can. I'm going into the nipple exhibit next week though.”

“Oh, nice! I'll still see you during lunch?” Frank asked.

“Absolutely, man.” Percy balanced himself to give him a fist-bump. “GHFF. Glory Hole Friends Forever.”

 ***

Placing edging on his dislike list didn't seem to deter the Edge-er.

At five in the afternoon his calloused hands appeared like clockwork, tickling the underside of Percy's cock until his dick was full and then slapping him when he got too close to orgasm. Except this time, rather than leaving his cock dripping and without orgasm, the Edge-er jerked him off to completion, making Percy gasp sharply in surprise, hips shuddering against the wall.

Percy hummed happily as the customer's hand stroked the last of his cum from him, then whined as the man's fingers continued to touch him. They didn't let up either. Percy hissed at the burn as the calloused hands teased his head and then gripped his length tightly, pumping him without mercy.

“You need to hit the red button?” Frank asked him quietly, his own face beaded with sweat as someone on the other side jerked his own cock.

Percy shook his head, shivering through the over-sensitivity. He could do this. He could do this.

Luckily, he didn't have to. The over-stimulation was a one-time thing and after that the Edge-er simply teased him and got him off, teased him and got him off.

At least, he did until Percy moved exhibits.

As if knowing where Percy went, the calloused hands followed him to the Nipple Exhibit. Like the Genital Exhibit, Percy knelt on a memory foam pad in front of a wall, but rather than a hole, there was a slot for him to press his chest up against and a Velcro halter to keep him against it and his chest securely in place. And here, the Edge-er wasn't forced to adhere to a Dislike List about not letting him cum.

Here, the man on the other side could play with Percy as long as he liked without having to care about making him orgasm. And the man _didn't_ care.

He rubbed and tickled and pinched and teased and twisted, making Percy's cock leak against the wall. A warm tongue slid against his left nipple and a single finger rubbed his right.

“How long does this go on for?” Percy groaned, cheek pressed against the wall.

The beautiful girl beside him named Piper only laughed. “For as long as they want. And trust me, this exhibit is all about the tease. The customers who come to this one come to it for a reason.”

He lasted for a week, but he was sure Calloused Hands would have lasted for a lot longer. The man would take anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour, but every time he left Percy's nipples felt sore and sensitive from being over-worked by a talented mouth and merciless fingers.

The next exhibit was the Anal Exhibit and, just like the others, the Edge-er seemed to find him there too.

Except unlike with the Genital and Nipple Exhibits, Calloused Hands, while just as teasing, seemed to be more interested in making Percy cum.

First, that wonderful mouth planted itself against Percy's hole, the man's growing beard – had he always had that? – tickling his skin. He sucked at Percy's rim, fingering him slowly with the lube on the tray on the customer's side of the wall. Percy bit his lip, feeling the black rubber from the hole of the wall press into the soft flesh of his stomach as he pushed his ass back against the customer's mouth.

The man responded by removing his mouth entirely, making Percy groan, and replacing it with the pad of his thumb – rubbing, rubbing, rubbing – until Percy's hole, almost without any force, took it inside of its own volition. The man rewarded Percy with a gentle rubbing to the underside of the head of cock, making him squirm. The calloused finger pressed further in until Percy stilled again and once more he was rewarded with a rub to that sensitive spot. After another uncomfortable pressing of the man's thumb in his hole, Percy understood: accept the teasing and don't move.

Biting his lip, Percy spread his thighs a little more and tensed as the man's index finger once again rubbed that spot on the underside of his head. But he didn't squirm and didn't try to move away. The man's finger continued its rubbing, testing Percy, and after holding it for a whole of sixty seconds with no squirming, the customer replaced his thumb with his mouth.

Percy _moaned_.

He could feel the man smile against his skin. More lube was dripped over his rim and those calloused hands spread his cheeks apart to watch it dribble down, down to his balls. Again, he was rewarded with the rubbing of the underside of his cock and when he didn't squirm, keeping his thighs spread wide, two fingers carefully pressed against Percy's hole. Slowly, they made their way inside and, slowly, they made their way back out. Slowly, in. Slowly, out. Until Percy relaxed enough to take them fully inside.

He expected more fingers, for the customer to push his cock inside, and because of that was grateful that Horatio had included a preparatory session before each shift. But unlike the other customers Percy had had earlier that day, Calloused Hands only used his fingers. They pressed down carefully, repeatedly, as if searching for something and although fingering didn't quite do anything for Percy, he let the man who had been playing with him for weeks have his fun.

Except that once the man's fingers turned just a little, tilting just right, warmth began to pool in the low of Percy's gut. Leaning on his elbows on the memory foam pad, Percy wondered if Calloused Hands had found his prostate, the spot Percy had been trying to find since his first year of college. Sure, he'd found it once, but it hadn't really felt as great as fanfics and porn made it sound and he had lost the patience he had had trying to have a prostate orgasm, giving up and jerking off quick and fast.

Now, with someone else's patience calling the shots, it seemed like he was going to have one.

Face warming at the thought, Percy glanced over his shoulder as if he could see the stranger, but all he saw was wall. Well, wall as his friend Nico's boyfriend beside him, but Percy was trying to avoid seeing that much of anyone he actually knew.

The fingers were incessant, beckoning him with constant pressure against that spot and making the warmth in Percy's gut build and build. However, he made the mistake of pressing back against the fingers and suddenly that fantastic pressure was gone. Groaning, Percy punched the memory pad. Then he spread his thighs wide just as he had before and didn't move. Yet the man's finger didn't rub against the underside of his cock. Instead, he felt the cool drip of lube pouring onto his hole again: drip, drip, drip.

Percy shivered when, again, nothing happened. He felt the lube trail down over his balls again and over his length like ghost touches. Finally, the tip of a finger began to rub the sensitive spot beneath his head again, but this time it didn't stop. Whimpering, Percy's hips twitched desperately for more friction, but the movement only earned him a sharp slap directly on his hole.

Percy gasped in surprise, but when he instinctively moved his hips forward, another slap came: this time to his cock. Hissing, he got the memo and pressed his ass back, not away. Presenting himself.

A moment passed and again, the finger returned, always teasing and never enough until finally Percy's body shook with what had to have been the crappiest orgasm he had ever had. No touch followed. No pumping his cock through his orgasm, no fingering, no rimming. Just a ruined orgasm and nothing else.

Percy flushed as he got the message: keep your legs open, present yourself, keep still, and accept what I give you.

He thought to himself as he felt the cool wipe of the cleaner taking gentle care of him on the other side. Percy didn't quite consider himself to be a submissive person and he certainly didn't consider himself to be into BDSM. But there was something about being on display, about giving in to someone else, that definitely made him hotter than the other hands that roughly got him off and spanked his ass.

If the Edge-er wanted him to keep still and present himself, then he would.

But he better get a phenomenal fucking orgasm out of it.

***

The next day, Percy was prepared.

He was in a good mood, having hung out with Annabeth and Jason the night before and having gotten breakfast with Frank at a Starbucks before his afternoon shift. By the time it was five, Percy had already cum twice and finally gotten a Sia song out of his head, so he was prepared for the calloused hands that gently stroked up his thigh and onto the swell of his ass.

Percy spread his thighs wide as silently instructed and kept still as lips once again pressed against his hole, giving tiny, teasing licks to his rim. As usual, the man's finger came down and rubbed against the underside of his cock. Percy licked his lips, but didn't move, didn't squirm. The man rewarded him with a finger, pushing inside of him just as carefully as it had the day before, filling Percy with a wonderful pressure. The man curved it, searching, and then poured another cap-full of lube over his hole. A second finger was added and Percy was careful not to move even as he groaned.

As if memorizing where his prostate had been the other day, the man easily found that spot inside of him again, rubbing carefully with curled fingers. Incessant, they pressed, pressed, pressed. Percy let himself get lost in it, careful not to move his thighs from their splayed position, careful not to lower his ass from where it was slightly raised to take the customer's fingers.

That warmth began to steadily build again in the low of gut. He wanted desperately for the man to touch his cock, which was beginning to drip pre-cum onto the floor (sorry, cleaners!), but remembered the ruined orgasm from the day before and didn't dare try anything. The man seemed to sense his want because while his one hand curled repeatedly against his prostate, his other hand rubbed the curve of his ass as if to console him. Percy grumbled into the memory pad that he didn't need comfort, he needed to be _touched_.

The man's fingers curved, curved, curved, pulled out, toyed with his rim, pushed in, pulled out, pushed in, twisted, pulled out. Lube dripped back onto his hole. Fingers pushed in, curved, curved, curved, _curved._

Percy's thighs began to tremble.

Heat pooled in his groin.

Percy choked in realization. _Don't move_ , he told himself. _Don't move. Don't move. Don't move!_

“That's it, sweetheart,” a man's deep voice crooned from the other side of the wall, making Percy flush from his ears to his cock. “Keep that pretty hole open for me.”

“Oh, my _god_ ,” Percy moaned. And he strangled the memory foam pad as he came hard on the man's fingers, pressing back against them, thrusting forward against the wall, and then back again. “Fuck!” he gasped. “ _Fuck!_ ”

The man's fingers kept pressing against that spot until Percy stopped shaking and then delicately pulled out. A single kiss with the tickle of a beard pressed against his hole. And then the customer was gone.

***

“Are you just going to eat _all_ the shrimp?” Jason asked with a laugh.

Percy choked on a laugh, wiping cocktail sauce from his lip. “Shrimp is expensive. Excuse me for indulging.” He'd been spending the last half hour methodically stealing shrimp off of the waiter's trays at Jason's graduation party without it being obvious. The best part about having a rich friend was the food. “Where've you been, man? I've been trying to congratulate your Magna Cum Laude ass for the past twenty minutes.”

Jason winced, fixing his tie which wasn't out of place. “Hosting. Sorry, man. My dad's here with his business bros, so I have to go around and make a good impression if I want a good fellowship for grad school.”

“Gross,” Percy said, but held up his fist.

Jason bumped it with a smile.

“Congratulations, man,” Percy said. “I mean it.”

“Hey, congrats to you too. Having ADHD is hard, but having ADHD _and_ Dyslexia _and_ graduating college? We should have freaking metals.”

“Purple Heart,” Percy said with a smile.

Jason took a cream puff from one of the waiter's trays and leaned in so Percy could hear him over the classical music. “You know, you should come say hi to my dad. I know people always talk shit about your major, but I think if you network a little then you might be able to land a job. I mean, other than what you've been doing.” At Percy's frown, he shrugged. “Ever consider journalism?”

“I suck at networking,” Percy said, ignoring the question. “People always hate me.”

“It's because you always _scowl_.”

“I'm not scowling, that's my _face_.”

“Just come on,” Jason said, tugging at Percy's dress shirt. God, he hated fancy dinner parties. “If it goes bad, you can always come back to the shrimp.”

“The shrimp will never disappoint me,” Percy agreed. Reluctantly he followed Jason through a crowd of people chatting about various things from politics to the economy and stocks. Finally, they arrived in front of a group of people who, if not for the four CEOs in dresses, Percy would have labeled Patriarchy©.

“Percy,” Jason said, stepping to the side so Percy could see a tall man in a sleek, dark blue suit with short, black hair and a short, black beard. When the man turned at his son's voice, Percy's heart skipped at the shock of the man's gray eyes. “This is my father, Jove Grace, CEO of Jupiter Limited and founder of the Upstate Sexibition.”

Percy blinked, startled. For some reason he'd thought Horatio was the Sexibition's founder.

“Dad, this my friend Percy Jackson,” Jason said. “He was the president of The Oracle at HBU–”

“Jason, don't,” Percy said, wincing.

“And has been a member of Sigma Tau Delta since he was a Sophomore.”

“Is that so?” Jove said and something about his voice, deep and gravelly, made Percy's skin pebble. He held out his hand for Percy to take. “You're a writer?”

“I am,” Percy agreed, grasping Jove's hand in a firm... handshake. Percy stared at Jove's hand – strong, warm, and calloused – as he released his grip.

“Are you planning to freelance?” Jove asked. He sipped at his wine.

“I guess so,” Percy said. He flexed his fingers; they tingled. “Maybe copywriting. I minored in graphic design, so I have more of an advertising edge to what I do, I guess.”

“Good,” Jove said, then winked. “I hate teachers.”

Percy laughed in surprise. Oh god, were those butterflies in his stomach? Fuck.

“Jason also tells me you're a fan of my business,” Jove said. His fingers trailed along the stem of his wine glass.

Percy followed them with his eyes. “I've been working at Upstate Sexibition for about a month now,” he admitted. He refused to feel ashamed about it. Work was money and in four months he would be debt free.

“And do you like it?” Jove asked. “I hear from my customers plenty, but it's my workers I care most about.”

Jason gave Percy a look that said “Surprising, but true.”

“I do like it,” Percy said. “Going in, I was expecting it to be something like a sleazy house of prostitution, but I feel really comfortable there.”

Jove looked pleased, which in turn made Percy's heart skip. “I'm happy to hear,” he said. “You'll be with us for a while, I trust.”

Percy laughed in spite of himself. “Maybe. At least for a year.”

Jove said, “Good, good,” and then took another sip of his wine. “I'm sure your customers would miss that lovely body of yours.”

“ _Dad_ ,” Jason hissed, then gave Percy an imploring look. “He's a huge flirt, I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize for me,” Jove playfully scolded. He glanced across the room at someone as he placed his empty glass on a waiter's tray and took up another. “However, I'm terribly sorry, Percy, but my wife is being bombarded by a terrible creature known to most people as Christine Jennings and I'm afraid I'm the only one in this room who can rescue her.” He raised his glass to Jason in congratulations and then winked at Percy. And with that he disappeared into the sea of business people and blazers.

Percy felt a little starstruck.

“Sorry,” Jason said again now that his dad was out of earshot. “But at least he seemed to like you. I'll try and see if I can get you on the marketing team at Jupiter. I heard from Skylar Jones earlier that there's an opening.”

Percy nodded, but he wasn't completely listening. He had found Jove again in the crowd, standing beside a beautiful woman with a slim figure and Jason's high cheekbones. She seemed to be uncomfortable and attempting to remove herself from the presence of another woman who was equally beautiful, but shorter and rounder with a pixie cut of short, wiry curls.

Jove must have felt his eyes because one moment he was listening to Christine Jennings' story with the attention of a hawk and the next his gray eyes were on Percy, pinning him, hunting him.

Percy swallowed.

Jove winked and raised his glass.

Percy would see him tomorrow at five.

 


End file.
